Finland’s popular foreign minister announces bid to run in 2024 presidential election

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s popular outgoing foreign minister, who was one of the key negotiators of his country’s recent membership in NATO, says he will run as a candidate in the presidential election early next year. Veteran politician Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s top diplomat since 2019 and a former leader of the Greens party, told reporters in a news conference that he would run as an independent candidate through a constituency association in the January 2024 election. The Finnish head of state is elected by a popular vote every six years. The 65-year-old Haavisto has topped recent polls by several media outlets. He is currently the caretaker foreign minister as Finland in the process of getting a new government following April’s general election.